Our last meal here. I picked Morimoto since it would be different from the two meals of Chinese food we already had at Din Tai Fung and Hakkasan. We had eaten at Morimoto Asia in Napa in October, but found it meh. Many years ago (2012!) we had eaten at Morimoto in Napa and I remember having fond memories of the toro and the bone marrow, so I was looking forward to this meal.
We had 6:15pm reservations. We were seated in the room further back and on the way we passed the sushi bar which has to be the most number of sushi chefs I’ve ever seen at one bar. It was presumably appropriate for the size of the dining room, but I was surprised/amazed to see so many. It was still relatively early, esp. by LV standards and the restaurant was still fairly empty. We were seated right next to the wine cellar.
Andrea and I started with cocktails which is SOP for us. I had the Asian Pear which was basically a grey goose martini with ginger and yuzu and Andrea had the Devil’s Advocate which was a tequila, yuzu, pomegranate, habanero since she likes the spicy drinks. Both were fine.
We started with some edamame, the toro tartare for a cold app, and the sticky ribs for the hot app. I also had the clam miso soup and Andrea ordered the laksa noodle soup which they warned us would be large and more likely for two people. I had fond memories of the toro tartare from Morimoto Napa because the presentation is so dramatic, but I wasn’t really impressed by the flavor. In that regard, I’d just rather have a piece of seasoned toro nigiri or sashimi.
The sticky ribs were also disappointing. The ones at Morimoto Asia had a nice crisp shell to them and the glaze was much thicker than this watery sauce.
My clam miso was fine. Andrea’s laksa soup was decent, but it is a heavy dish and there was a lot of it so we knew we wouldn’t finish it.
For entrees, my dad and mom each ordered the grilled hamachi kama. I’m not surprised by them ordering it, I was just very surprised that they each had an order since they generally don’t eat too so much and we had a good sized lunch at Goldilocks. As it would turn out, it was much more fish than just the cheek, but it was very well seasoned and flavorful, both the flesh of the fish and as well as the crispy skin. My dad went to town on his and finished the whole thing. My mom ate a decent amount too, more than her usual.
Andrea and I ordered the sushi combo for 2. Unfortunately, I have to say this platter of sushi was very uninspiring. It was all just basic pieces of nigiri. We prefer it to either have some interesting preparation/seasoning or if it is naked, to be very fresh. The nigiri on this platter was neither.
Even though we were all pretty full, we had to try the signature Fiery Chocolate Tart. I have to admit having something flambeed is always a nice touch if done well and this was done well. The main part of this dessert is a chocolate sphere with some chocolate cake? nuggets and some marshmallow creme inside. Flaming rum is poured on to the sphere which melts and creates a nice warm chocolate combination with the other ingredients.
So despite a bit of the meal have some misses, it did ended strongly with the dessert.
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